Harvey Fund-Raising Efforts

Taken from family and friends in a searing flash, in order to remember the lost Harveys in a fitting way there is much sentiment in the air to turn the panic and sorrow felt during of the first week of 2006 into something uplifting.

Now, if missing Bryan, Kathy, Stella and Ruby is making you feel you should act, or maybe you wish to atone for something you regret, or if you miss a time in your own life when you weren't so cynical, perhaps this is your best chance to do something purely good to make it right.

Act.

Accordingly, a tip of SLANT’s cap goes out to Jeff Allums, who runs a restaurant in the Fan District -- the Baja Bean. For Allums, too, absorbing the news of the murder of the Harvey family was difficult but unavoidable, in the scary days following the tragedy. Upon reading about the establishment of the Harveys' memorial endowment on SLANTblog Mr. Allums felt he should act.

Allums has been in business at the corner of Lombardy and Main since 1999. While he didn’t know the Harveys, he knew plenty of people who did. He found that several of his regular customers, especially the Happy Hour geezers that once hung out at the Texas-Wisconsin Border Cafe (1982-99), remembered Kathy Harvey fondly, Bryan, too.

Kathy was quite easy on the eyes when she waitressed at the old Border over 15 years ago, pre-World of Mirth; it's said the Harveys’ romance got some early traction there in that time. Perhaps it's so, the Border was then in an atmospheric league of it own, cool-wise -- as blue collar-artsy a bar as the law allowed in Richmond.

Anyway, Allums understood the Harveys were connected in many ways to the culture that helps his business thrive.

Jeff is also a father.

So, the restaurant’s general manager got an idea. A Baja Bean flyer was produced which announced, “On Tuesday January 17th, 2006, from 4 p.m. - 10 p.m. we will be passing the bucket and donating 25% of the sales to benefit The Harvey Family Memorial [Endowment].” He got in touch with The Community Foundation. About $500 was raised. Jeff trusts that money will be used well.

That’s how easy it was. A good deed was done. Updates on further fund-raising efforts, and new details on how the sums raised will be used by the Bryan and Kathryn Harvey Family Memorial Endowment, will be posted as they come in.